Sexual Offences Act 1956
 

The most relevant provisions that have to date been used against traffickers and exploiters are Section 22 and Section 24 of the SOA 1956. 

S. 22. (1) It is an offence for a person

(a)     to procure a woman to become, in any part of the world, a common prostitute; or

(b)     to procure a woman to leave the UK, intending her to become an inmate of or frequent a brothel elsewhere; or

(c)     to procure a woman to leave her usual place of abode in the UK, intending her to become an inmate or frequent a brothel in any part of the world for the purposes of prostitution.  

S. 24 (1) It is an offence for a person to detain a woman against her will on any premises with the intention that she shall have unlawful sexual intercourse with men or with a particular man, or to detain a woman against her will in a brothel.  

The maximum sentences for these offences is two years, making the trafficking offences introduced by the NIA 2002 and the forthcoming Sexual Offences legislation, a more serious offence with heavier penalties.  The 1956 Act also contains the offence of abduction, although as with many of the offences under this act, this may be difficult to prove if it has occurred in the country of origin. Finally, s.30 and 31 contain the offence of exercising control over a prostitute, which carried a maximum sentence of seven years, which has been increased under the new Act to 14 years. This came into effect on the 10^th February 2003. 

The Offences against the Person Act 1861 covers the offences of murder, rape and sexual assault.  

Prosecutions have also been brought against traffickers for the offence of ‘unlawful imprisonment’ that has been used to bring charges against traffickers.[1] 

The Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 1995 may be used to conduct financial investigations into suspected traffickers’ financial affairs and to seize assets.